


Beyond the Horizon

by MiniSuga127



Category: ATEEZ (Band), Stray Kids (Band), TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Adventure, Bc I have a habit, But don't @ me if they ain't there, But like with modern aspects, But prolly is cuz I can't do just one, Cuz that's easier to write, Evil tyrant king, Fantasy, Gen, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I rly dk what else to tag, Idk if all the bands in the tags will be present, Idk if this is gonna be multifandom yet, Just a disclaimer, Like they have phones and stuff, More tags to be added, Not into sending letters, Of randomly introducing different bands, Overthrowing, Prince Seonghwa, Rebellion, Royal guard San, Royal guard hongjoong, Royal guard wooyoung, So ya that's y they in the tags, This is gonna be loooooonngggg, This one is also just crack, i think, idk what else to tag, just in case, kinda medieval, read the tags, they're just there, treasure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22214248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniSuga127/pseuds/MiniSuga127
Summary: When his father is brutally killed, Prince Seonghwa decides to take matters into his own hands. With the help of 7 ambitious boys, he goes on a treacherous journey to find the one thing that could overthrow the new tyrant king: The Sword of Asylum.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. Black Sword

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually so excited for this fic but it's gonna take so much timeeeee  
> Hopefully y'all can stick around until the ending ;)  
> Let's enjoy this crackheaded journey together💜💜

_Seonghwa stared out the window, a small smile on his face. He loved doing this first thing in the morning. It made him happy to see the citizens of Centauri waking up, content, greeting their neighbors, and laughing about previous endeavors. Centauri was such a happy kingdom, and Seonghwa often wondered how his father had done it._

_As if spurred by his thoughts, his father came up behind him and put a hand on his 18 year old son’s shoulder. He stared out the window for awhile, before looking down at his son instead._

_“Father, how do you do it? Will I be able to keep the kingdom as happy as you do?” Seonghwa said, looking back at his father._

_His father smiled softly at his son._

_“You, my boy, will have absolutely no problem being an amazing king. I'm sure of it. You'll be the best king Centauri has ever seen.”_

_“Even better than you, Father?” The boy asked, eyes wide._

_“Absolutely.”_

_A sudden gloom overtook the boy, as he looked back down._

_“I don't want to be king, Father…”_

_“Why ever not?”_

_“I can't be king unless I lose you. I'd rather have you live forever than be king…”_

_“Oh, Hwa…” The man turned his son to face him and put both hands on his shoulders._

_“I'll always be with you…”_

_Seonghwa smiled sadly, as his father repeated exactly what he had known he would say._

_The door to his room opened suddenly. Seonghwa looked up to see his uncle standing there. The man smiled and Seonghwa smiled back hesitantly._

_He had never liked his uncle. He was very nice and always pampered him, but Seonghwa always thought he seemed off. His smile always looked like he was hiding something._

_“Hyung!” His uncle called to his father._

_“I'm coming brother, give me a second.” His father responded. Turning back to his son, he leaned over and kissed his forehead._

_“I love you, Hwa.”_

_“Love you too, Father.”_

_“I'll be right back, ok?”_

_Seonghwa nodded and watched as his dad left with his uncle. His uncle gave him one last smile before walking out as well._

_His father never came back that night…_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seonghwa opened his eyes, groggily, wincing slightly as the bright sun shines through the window, right into his eyes. He thought back to his strange dream. _I'll always be with you,_ his father had said. Yet here he was 2 years later, and his dad was gone forever.

In fact today was the second anniversary of his death, as well as the day his uncle was crowned King two years ago. Seonghwa was still too young to be king. He had to be at least 25 before he could take the throne.

He shook his head. His uncle should not be King. _Everything has gone to hell since he was crowned._

Seonghwa rose out of bed and walked over to the window. He had no idea what he was doing until he was already at the window. He didn't even know why he was spurred to do such a thing, when he hadn't done so in two years. _Maybe it was my dream._

Staring out the window, he couldn't help it as his heart twinged painfully at what he saw. No one spoke to each other and when they did, they fearfully glanced over their shoulders at some unknown threat. Homeless people were scattered everywhere on the streets. His beautiful kingdom was no longer the bright place it had been two years ago and there was nothing he could do about it.

_But there was…_

He suddenly remembered the conversation he had with his friends yesterday. His three best friends were royal guards and the four of them had become very desperate yesterday. They had voiced the idea of overthrowing the tyrant but spoke very briefly about it and had no plans whatsoever.

Still, Seonghwa had made up his mind to do anything in his power to stop the king and bring back Centauri’s previous splendor.

Sighing heavily, Seonghwa decided to get out of the castle for awhile. He got dressed in normal clothes so as to not be recognized by any of the civilians.

When he was ready, he creeped out of his room and began walking down the hall. When he got close to the front gates, he hid behind a pillar to see who was on guard duty today and if he would have to find a different way out. Letting out a breath of relief when he saw it was one of his friends, he stepped out from his hiding place and walked over.

“Hey, Hongjoong!” He whisper yelled. The man flinched and turned his head towards the sound, relaxing when he saw Seonghwa.

“Hey…” He whispered back. “Heading out again?”

Seonghwa nodded as he stopped in front of him. Hongjoong unlocked the gates and cracked the right door open slightly.

“Don't be too long.” He whispered, as Seonghwa stepped out into the warm breeze. Seonghwa turned back and noticed that his friend looked troubled.

“Ok… Is everything alright?” He asked, hesitantly. Hongjoong nodded, his eyes on the ground. Then he made a sound of frustration and leveled his gaze with Seonghwa’s.

“I'm fine… I think yesterday's conversation just has me on edge…”

“No one's going to find out, Joong, don't worry.” Seonghwa said, soothingly.

Hongjoong gave him a small smile and nodded, before pushing the other boy slightly.

“Thanks buddy. Get going now. Have fun!”

Seonghwa smiled one last time before turning around and walking into the town.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seonghwa soon lost himself in his thoughts as he walked through the town. He reminisced about how he used to do this two years ago and how different the mood was. But then what was he doing still walking the town when it was so different now? Well, the answer to that was simple. Sure, the atmosphere outside was gloomy but it could never surpass the darkness that was inside the Castle. Even though his uncle wouldn't be there for a few days, ( _he had gone to agree upon an alliance with another kingdom, though Seonghwa was very curious as to who in their right mind would even want to ally with such a destroyed kingdom_.) it didn't quell the darkness at all.

Seonghwa clenched his fists tightly as a wave of anger towards his uncle washed over him. Ever since that day when his father had gone away with his uncle and never come back, there had always been the thought in Seonghwa's head that his uncle had something to do with his father's death. Of course, no one believed him, not even his friends. 

_He is for sure a terrible king,_ his friend, San, had said, _but I don't think he would ever murder his brother like that._

_Still,_ Seonghwa thought, _something had gone amiss that day._ His father was healthy and young. If nothing had gone wrong, he should have lived well beyond his years.

Seonghwa sighed and shook his head, dispelling the sorrowful thoughts. He continued walking until he came upon a small bakery. He purchased several pastries and purposely handed the man behind the counter more money than he should have. He left quickly before the man could notice and continued down his path.

As he walked, he handed out pastries to the homeless people scattered around the block. It always made him so happy to see their faces light up in astonishment. Some people would thank him profusely, while others would argue passionately saying that there was no need, before eventually accepting the gift. All of them, however, had that bright glint in their eyes, called hope, even if it was for a little while. It was a small thing, but to Seonghwa it made all the difference.

After he had handed out all the pastries, Seonghwa continued walking down the street, in much higher spirits than before, swinging the empty basket in his hands. He vaguely wondered if he should buy something else for the citizens, but before he could think of anything, something, or make that some _one_ , collided into him with a great force, the impact making both of them fall to the floor.

Seonghwa lifted himself up on his elbows, glancing behind him to see a man with rather striking features, quickly standing and holding something close to his chest.

“Are you alright?” Seonghwa asked, standing and reaching his hand towards the man. The man looked up at him, his eyes widening fearfully, before he made a run for it once more.

Seonghwa stood there, frowning in confusion. He pulled his hood closer to his face, worried that the man might have recognized him. Shivering slightly as the warm breeze suddenly became a biting cold, Seonghwa decided now was a good time to start heading back. He was just about to turn around when he caught sight of something strange. 

In between the small stores and houses, was a small rundown looking building. It gave him haunted house vibes and as such intrigued him more than anything. Standing in front of the building was a tall boy with bright blue hair that starkly contrasted the dark vibe of the building. Looking around, he noticed that most people seemed to be overlooking the building as though it was nothing important. However, some people would walk up to the boy and after engaging in a short hushed discussion, would be allowed inside.

Seonghwa decided to investigate and made his way to the building, making sure most of his face was obscured by his hood. He stopped in front of the boy and looked up at him.

“What is this place?” He asked curiously. The boy smirked and looked like he was going to laugh.

“Well… We call this place the Black Sword.”

Seonghwa tilted his head in confusion and the boy seemed to have caught on, because he continued to speak.

“Only members of the Black Sword know what goes in here…” 

Now Seonghwa was interested.

“How do I become a member?” He asked

The boy smirked again in amusement.

“You have to pay, my friend…”

“How mu-” Seonghwa stopped short, as he reached for his pocket, realizing that his money pouch was no longer there. His breath caught in his throat as he suddenly remembered the boy he had bumped into earlier and the way he had held his hands close to his chest, before running away.

Seonghwa put his hand down, putting two and two together, and coming to the conclusion that the boy had stolen his money. He was only a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to go inside the strange building, but knew that the boy needed the money more than him.

He looked up at the boy with a sad smile.

“It appears I have nothing to give you. Perhaps another time?”

“Of course…” The boy said with the ever present smirk.

With that out of the way, Seonghwa bid him farewell and began heading back to the castle.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that night, Seonghwa sat in his room in a daze. This always happened every time he went outside. He would go into deep thought about what happened during that time and how to make it all stop. But this time was different. All his thoughts were directed to the Black Sword and what it could possibly be. Little did he know, he would be finding out soon enough.

The door to his room opened suddenly, spurring him to turn his head to see Hongjoong, San, and Wooyoung, his three best (only) friends in the entire world. He gave them a hesitant smile which they each returned.

“Any news?” Wooyoung asked as they all walked over and settled on Seonghwa's spacious bed.

“Not really…” Seonghwa replied with a heavy sigh. “Same conditions, perhaps even worse. More robberies it seems… Oh!”

The boys looked up at Seonghwa as he gasped suddenly.

“I saw something strange… A place called the Black Sword…”

Hongjoong’s eyes widened at that as he shared a look with the other 2 boys. Seonghwa tilted his head, prompting Hongjoong to explain his reaction.

“Well… The king sent us an email detailing our assignment for tomorrow… Apparently, recent information has surfaced that the Black Sword is actually a rebel organization… We're supposed to arrest the leader and co leader tomorrow and question them the next day…” 

“Oh…” Seonghwa said, letting that sink in. “Well, it looks like that makes things easier for me. I was trying to join and figure out more about it today. I'm sure that there's more to it though… If they managed to hide from the king for that long, they must be more large scale… Maybe we can use their information for our own plans…”

The boys nodded at this idea in agreement.

They stayed for only a little while after that, wanting to get back to their posts as quickly as possible.

“Goodnight, Hwa. We'll let you know when we've captured the two. Maybe we can sneak you into their cells so you can question them a bit first?” San said, standing at the door.

Seonghwa smiled at his friend's concern. It was a well known fact that he was more than a little impatient and anxious. He was happy that his friend was trying to make things better for him and nodded.

“I'll let you know if I change my mind though.” He said

“Of course.” And with one last smile , San shut the door and left, leaving Seonghwa alone with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	2. The Sword of Asylum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took much longer than expected...  
> But here it is!

Seonghwa sighed for the third time that day.

And he still had yet to get out of bed…

He groaned in frustration and gripped his hair with his hands. He knew that he should probably get up and _do_ something.

But he really didn't want to go into town that day and his friends were out on their mission.

Sighing once again, he dragged himself out of bed and decided he might as well have some breakfast.

But in the end, he just ended up wandering the halls aimlessly. He smiled wryly, knowing that most people would kill for a royal life. It really wasn't all it was talked up to be though. Especially, when you lived in a castle that was inhabited by a ruthless killing tyrant most of the time.

He was once again hit with a wave of relief that his uncle wasn't here for the time being.

_I wonder how badly he's going to get rejected by the king of Venoria…_

Seonghwa chuckled a little at the thought, before looking up to see where he had ended up in his aimless walk. A non-descript door stood in his way. The only thing indicating its use was a plaque on the front that read: _King Park’s_ _Study_.

Seonghwa stared at it with a mute expression on his face. He had been in there a lot with his father, but since he had died two years ago, he had yet to set foot in it.

Reaching out with a hesitant hand, he opened the door and walked in. Once he was safely inside, he quietly closed the door behind him, then turned around to take in his surroundings.

A small smile settled on his face when he saw the countless books on the book shelves and papers scattered all over the desk. The King's study had remained just as he had left it.

There was now a thin layer of dust covering everything and Seonghwa had an urge to grab a broom and start cleaning everything. He was almost about to do so when he noticed that not _everything_ was dusty.

There were a few books here and there that weren't dusty at all. In fact, they looked as if they were recently used.

Seonghwa frowned and moved closer, reading the titles on the spines of the books.

_Legends and Myths…_

_Heroic Swords: A Retelling of The Most Legendary Battles in History…_

_The Tales of Ancient Lyra: Myth or Reality?_

The rest of the titles also had something to do with swords and myths.

_Hmmm strange… Who touched these and why?_

Now that he thought about it, he realized that his father would never leave his papers scattered around on the table like that.

His eyes widening, he crossed over to the other side of the study, frowning in confusion when he noticed a journal lying open in the midst of everything.

He moved some of the papers away and lifted up the notebook, eyes searching its contents.

What he saw nearly made his jaw drop open.

_Sword of Asylum…_

  * _Gives the wielder knowledge of the future_


  * _Invincibility_


  * _Guarantees victory in every battle_


  * _Anyone who comes into contact with the blade is guaranteed to die, unless… ?_


  * _Imbued with a poison that makes wounded suffer for days before killing them… Antidote for poison… ?_


  * _Located in Lyra, heavily guarded by… ?_



Seonghwa’s eyes traveled further down the page, noticing a lot more question marks. It appeared that his father never had an idea where Lyra was located or if it was even real.

From the way things were worded, Seonghwa thought that it was some sort of myth that his father wanted to prove as true. If he thought hard enough, the legend seemed vaguely familiar, but people had stopped looking for it a long time ago.

_So why the sudden reappearance?_

He turned the page and found an incomplete map, the words _where to from here?_ scrawled on the margins.

Seonghwa gasped as he realized that the words on the map weren't written by his father. He dropped the book, clapping his hand over his mouth.

_This must be why Uncle killed Father! He must have known of his search and wanted the Sword for himself! I have to tell the others!_

His excitement dulled a little when he realized that they probably still wouldn't believe him. They thought he just didn't like his uncle and just wanted to find _some_ explanation for his father's death.

_But perhaps I can convince them to help me find it first! So we can overthrow him! They would definitely be in favor of that!_

Pumped by his new discovery, Seonghwa snatched the notebook back up and rushed back out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yunho sighed, running a hand through his bright blue hair. He looked back at the building behind him for a second, ensuring that everyone had left. When he was convinced that it was empty, he locked the front door, then sat down on the floor, leaning against it.

He shut his eyes for a moment, his thoughts straying to the strange man he met today. He couldn't have been much older than him, judging from his voice. Yunho thought it was strange that the man chose to hide most of his face. Wanting to hide identities wasn't something very common nowadays. Almost everyone knew everyone, because it was the only thing keeping them sane these days. Having a lot of people that you know and trust around you really helped lift spirits in the situation that the town was currently in.

What was even stranger about the man was that he had _no idea_ what the Black Sword was. Everyone in Centauri knew about the rebel organization that helped people escape the terrible conditions daily. As the leader of the society, Yunho was at once offended and amused that the man was seemingly oblivious to the entire thing.

_Perhaps he was a foreigner?_

“Hey, don't fall asleep on me, bro!”

Yunho opened his eyes to see one of his best friends standing in front of him with a dazzling smile on his face.

“Hey, Yeosang…” Yunho said, returning the smile.

Yeosang sat down cross-legged in front of him and pulled out a coin pouch from his pocket.

“Check it out! I stole this off some dude. Kinda felt bad though… It looked like he was buying stuff for the homeless…”

Yunho frowned, reaching forward to take the pouch from him. He turned it this way and that, relishing the sound the coins made when they slid past each other.

“Why would he do that, though?” Yunho thought it strange for someone in a town such as this to willingly spend their money on others.

“I don't know, he was super weird. I watched him for awhile before stealing his pouch but I was never able to see his face. He kept covering it with his hood…”

“Oh really? Maybe I met the same guy as you!”

Yeosang leaned forward, his chin resting in his palm, eyes filled with interest.

“Go on…”

“This dude came to me and asked what this place is. I told him it's called the Black Sword, then I said the code phrase and you know what he said to me? He said I have no money to give you.”

Yeosang leaned back, an amused expression on his face.

“Ah, it _must_ have been the same guy then. I can't believe he didn't know the answer to the code. Everyone knows we only require loyalty as payment and nothing else. He just had to add, ‘but I can give you my loyalty’ to the end of his sentence…”

“I know…” Yunho said, nodding. “Maybe he was a foreigner?”

“But who in their right mind would come _here_ of all places?”

“That's true…” Yunho said, falling silent.

“Anyways enough about that. Did you gather any more people for our _other_ cause?” Yeosang asked.

Yunho scoffed, turning back to him.

“No, no one believes us. It seems that word has gotten around that we're lunatics that believe in an ancient legend about a powerful sword. Everyone I approach declines me before I can even get a word out and if it's an elder, I'll have to stay for their lecture about how myths are a waste of time.”

“Maybe we can do it on our own? Just me, you, Jongho and Mingi?” Yeosang said.

“Ya, I guess…” Yunho said, sighing. “I just wish more people would believe us…”

“Don't worry, Yunnie Hyung. We'll find someone, I'm sure. And once we help enough people escape, we can find it ourselves.”

Yunho looked up, smiling slightly at the nickname. The smile fell a little at the mention of his other friends… Who still had yet to show up.

“Hey, where _are_ the others though? They said they'd come back from Venoria today…”

“That's right, they did…”

Without another word, Yunho whipped out his phone and dialed Mingi. He waited impatiently, one ring… Two rings… Three rings…

He didn't pick up…

“Mingi won't pick up, I'm gonna try Jongho…”

Yeosang nodded, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Yunho waited with bated breath as the phone rang continuously.

“H-hyung…”

Yunho gasped, clutching the phone like a lifeline. He made eye contact with Yeosang who looked desperate to know what had gone wrong. Yunho took the phone away from his ear and pressed the speaker button.

“Jongho! What happened? Where are you guys?” Yeosang asked.

“Hyung, you have to come quick!” The boy spoke quietly as if terrified that someone would hear.

“Where are you? Are you ok?!” Yunho said.

“Hyung, we got caught at the gates! I don't know how but somehow the guards knew that Mingi is the cofounder of the Black Sword! And now they've got him a-and they've knocked him out and they haven't found me but now they're asking for you, Hyung! They know you're the leader!”

Yunho looked up at Yeosang wide eyed.

“We're coming to get you, stay put Jongho, and stay on the phone!” Yeosang said.

They both rose off the floor and made a beeline towards the gates. It took them about ten minutes at full speed and by the time they had climbed the wall surrounding the town, they were both out of breath.

Yunho looked up and saw the gates leading into the city not far off.

“Ok, Yeosang take my phone and find Jongho. When you do, _stay put_ until I say so, ok?”

Yeosang opened his mouth to argue but Yunho looked at him pleadingly, begging him with his eyes to obey. Yeosang shut his mouth and nodded mutely, then took off.

Taking a deep breath, Yunho waited until he could no longer see his friend before making his own way towards the gate. He crept closer and closer, hiding behind a tree when he was close enough.

Peeking out from behind the tree, he gasped slightly when he caught sight of Mingi lying unconscious on the floor. There were two guards on either side of him, but for some reason they weren't armed.

Yunho rolled his eyes, amused.

_This should be easy…_

Coming out from behind the tree, he moved at lightning speed, hitting one of the guards over the head and knocking him out before the other guy even had time to react.

“Hey, stop right there!” The other man yelled, aiming a punch at Yunho’s face.

He dodged just in time and grabbed the man's arm, flinging him across his shoulder. The man's head hit the ground with a resounding thud and he didn't move after that.

_That was almost too easy…_

Yunho shrugged off the thought and crouched down next to his friend. He noticed a trickle of blood flowing from his head and winced at the sight. He turned his head and called out for his other two friends.

“Yeosang, Jongho! You can come out now!” 

A few seconds later, the boys emerged from the foliage. Jongho was clinging to his Hyung's arm, looking visibly shaken. He turned worried eyes towards Mingi’s prone body.

“W-will he be ok?” he asked.

“Of course, baby, don't worry we'll take good care of him. Now Yeosang, help me carry-”

“Well, this is sad…”

Yunho cut off abruptly as an unfamiliar voice hit his ears. All three boys looked up to see another guard standing before them, a smile on his face that was almost pitiful.

“You really thought it would be that easy, Yunho? You're the leader of a rebel organization! Surely you know that nothing is ever as it seems…”

Yunho's eyes widened the more the man spoke, but he was ultimately rooted to the spot, unable to move. When none of the boys responded, the man sighed and lazily made a gesture with his hand, saying, “Let's finish this…”

And before anyone could react, a dozen more guards emerged from the forest surrounding the three boys.

“This should be easy… Right Yunho?” The man grinned.

As the men advanced, the three boys were spurred into action. They immediately formed a half circle to protect their unconscious friend, while also taking on several of the armored men.

Thankfully, Yunho noticed that none of them had any weapons, which didn't exactly put them at an advantage, but slightly raised their chances of escape.

At least that's what he thought before one of the men landed an especially hard hit on Jongho’s head, knocking him out in the blink of an eye. And just like that, they had lost their strongest man.

Things only went downhill from there, as Yeosang suddenly cried out in pain. Yunho glanced over at him, just as he fell to his knees clutching his arm, which was bent at a strange angle, close to his chest.

Yunho just barely dodged a fist aimed at his face, distracted by his friends’ situation. It barely registered to him that it was all up to him at this point. He wasn't even fighting anymore, just struggling to not get hit.

Then suddenly, he heard a deafening bang of a gunshot and fire ripped through his shoulder. He didn't even scream, he was too shocked.

Letting out a choked gasp, he fell to his knees beside Mingi, pressing a hand against his wound. He lifted his head to see the man from before holding a gun, a small sadistic grin on his face.

_How did I not notice his gun?_

But even as he thought this, his mind was going foggy, numb from the pain. The man bent down to be at eye level with Yunho and gripped his injured shoulder, squeezing tightly.

This time Yunho _did_ cry out, shutting his eyes tight. 

“Look at me, Yunho…”

But the boy didn't listen, he just struggled to get out of the man's iron grip, which he was only getting worse as time went on.

“Look at me when I'm talking to you!” The man yelled and this time Yunho obeyed, opening his tear filled eyes to stare at the man fearfully.

The man grinned, pulling his hand, which was now covered in the boy's blood, away from his shoulder.

“That wasn't so hard, now was it?” The man asked. 

When Yunho didn't answer, the man frowned and raised his hand, threateningly. Yunho gulped and took a few deep breaths before muttering, “Not for you, at least…”

The man paused for a second before smiling widely at him. Yunho shuddered, thinking that the man should stick to the threatening frown rather than the more terrifying smile.

“You're a fun one… I look forward to our time in prison.” The man said, patting him rather harshly on the shoulder once more, before rising to his feet.

“Sleep tight…”

That was the last thing Yunho heard before a sharp pain exploded in the back of his head, and his vision finally faded to black.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The first thing he noticed was the dull pain in his arm that was slowly becoming sharper as he became more awake. Groaning in pain, Yeosang opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

_Where am I?_

_What happened?_

_Why does my arm hurt so much?_

As his vision slowly cleared, he caught sight of a red headed boy, lying unconscious near him. _Mingi…_

And suddenly everything came back to him. He sat up with alarming speed, taking in his surroundings.

“Ah, great…” He muttered to himself. “We're in prison…”

“We are…?” A tired voice questioned. Yeosang jumped slightly, but relaxed when he realized that Mingi had just woken up. _Wait, Mingi woke up?_

“Oh my God, Mingi! Are you ok?!” Yeosang asked, worriedly.

Mingi nodded, sitting up slowly.

“Other than a terrible headache, I'm good…” He said, with a lopsided grin.

“Ah, of course…” Yeosang said, returning the smile. He quickly filled him in on everything that had happened.

“Well…” Mingi said after the explanation. “If there's anyone who can break us out of here it's you! You're the best at picking locks and stuff! Although… I'm not sure how you're going to do that with one arm out of commission…”

“Don't worry about it, I got this…” Yeosang said, pulling a pin out of his pocket and creeping towards the door to work his magic.

While he did that, Mingi eyed the other two boys with them.

“Um, Hyung? Should I wake these guys up?”

“Hmmm, maybe you should wake Jongho up. I think he might have a concussion. Let Yunho sleep though. He'll be in a lot of pain if he wakes up.”

“Right….”

Mingi crawled over to Jongho and gently shook him awake. Jongho groaned, a shaking hand cradling his head, as he slowly opened his eyes.

“Hyung… Are you ok?”

“Aish, this kid… I'm fine, worry about yourself… Your head is bleeding a lot…”

“S-so is yours Hyung…”

“Just a scratch…. You might have a concussion, baby. I want you to be careful ok? Do you think you can sit up?”

Jongho nodded slightly, lifting himself up on his shaking arms. As soon as he was up again, he dropped his head in both hands, groaning in pain once more.

“I think you might be right about the concussion, Sangie Hyung…” Mingi said, worriedly glancing back at the boy hard at work.

“No, no… I'm fine… Just kinda dizzy… I still remember everything…”

“Still, Jongho, it might be less serious but we're still going to tread carefully.” Yeosang said.

Jongho nodded again, too winded to speak.

“Wait.” He said, suddenly lifting his head up. “Where's Yunho Hyung?”

“Behind you…” Mingi said.

Jongho turned around, hissing when he saw the blood covering Yunho's left shoulder. He reached out to touch the boy but stopped short, afraid to hurt him.

“That looks bad…” 

“It does…” Mingi agreed.

They were broken out of their reverie by the sound of a loud click, followed by a frustrated groan from Yeosang.

“I was on the last lock! My pin broke!” He explained, sinking to the floor with his head in his good hand.

“Ah, Hyung, you could've asked me to kick it down… There's only one lock left right?” Jongho asked, rising to his feet shakily.

When Yeosang nodded, he walked over to position himself in front of the door. He took a deep breath as Mingi came to stand behind him.

He counted to three under his breath, then with alarming speed he leaned back on his left foot, driving the right one into the door with surprising strength.

Jongho fell backwards into Mingi's waiting arms, as the door fell to the floor with a resounding clang.

“Yes! That's our boy!” Yeosang shouted enthusiastically, clapping his hands excitedly.

“Well then, let's get going!” Mingi said.

“Wait!” Yeosang said, holding up a hand. “I have an idea. Jongho, do you think you can kick more doors down?”

Jongho thought about it for awhile before nodding and saying, “As long as I have my right hand man with me”, hooking his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing at a smiling Mingi who still had his arms wrapped tightly around the smaller boy.

“But why?” He asked curiously.

“Because, the more people there are running around the dungeons, the harder it'll be for the guards to pinpoint us and recapture us…”

Mingi's eyes widened as he realized what exactly his Hyung was insinuating.

“You mean to say… We're inciting a full on prison breakout?”

“Yup.” Yeosang said, grinning. “Now wake Yunho up. Let's break out…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seonghwa sat on his bed, his wide confused eyes glued to his phone screen. He was just about to go look for his friends who should have returned by now, when he received the strangest text from his uncle. 

_Why… Why would he send me a text like this?_

_What could this mean?_

Before he could think about it any further, the door to his room opened and he lifted his head to see the very three people he wanted to see.

Hongjoong, noticing the slightly haunted look in Seonghwa's eyes, immediately crossed over to the bed and put his hands on his shoulders, while Wooyoung and San stood off to the side, worried looks on their faces.

“Seonghwa, what is it?”

Seonghwa took a deep breath and explained everything he had found that morning and what it could entail. San sighed and was about to say what he always said, that Seonghwa was blaming the current king for his father's murder without any basis. But before he could say a word, Seonghwa cut in.

“Uncle just sent me something that _might_ prove he's guilty…” And with that he showed the boys the text he received.

It was simply worded, as if his uncle saw no need to further explain his wishes, knowing that Seonghwa probably already knew what to do.

_There's a legend I've been researching about. It's about a supposed Sword of Asylum. I'm confident it is real. I want you to find it for me and deliver it to me in one months time. You will find everything you need in your father's old study. Wishing you good luck. Do not fail me._

“And exactly how does that incriminate him?” San asked, raising an eyebrow.

Seonghwa rolled his eyes in frustration. San was _really_ beginning to annoy him.

“ _Because_ he _wasn't_ researching it. My _dad_ was. And _that's_ why he killed him. To find for himself! And now he wants me to do his dirty work!” Seonghwa said, his voice rising by the second.

“Sannie, that _does_ sound plausible…” Wooyoung said.

San sighed, but nodded, showing that he would go along with the story, _for now._

“So what do you want to do about this, then?” He asked.

“Well, I was going to go look for it anyway. It's the only thing that will end his reign. Honestly, his ‘request’ just makes it easier for me to get out of this place. I just won't give it to him when I come back.”

“We'll come with you, ok?” Hongjoong said.

Seonghwa nodded, relieved that he had said it himself. He was already considering asking them, since he couldn't imagine going on such a long journey without them.

“We should leave tonight if we're doing this then. The king returns tomorrow morning.” San pointed out.

“That's true. So how about this? Everyone come back here in an hour, then we can leave. Sound good?” Wooyoung suggested.

Everyone nodded, and the three royal guards were just about to head towards their own rooms, when a loud ringing noise sounded throughout the entire castle.

“Oh my God… A breakout? _Now?”_ Hongjoong said in disbelief.

“Ugh, come on then, we have to go guard our exits now…” Wooyoung said, sighing.

“Sorry, Seonghwa, we'll have to put this on hold. We'll come back when everything is settled down.” San said, as he left the room with the other two.

Seonghwa nodded, slightly disappointed.

_Couldn't those prisoners have waited for one more night?_

Little did he know, that four of those prisoners would prove very useful to him in the coming month.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Mingi, this way, this way!” Yeosang yelled at the boy over the chaos.

There were prisoners everywhere, trying to overwhelm the countless armored men blocking the exits.

Yeosang had been lucky enough to locate an exit that had no one guarding it and was now trying to direct Mingi towards it. It was slow going though, with Yunho leaning heavily against him.

Yeosang doubted that Yunho was even aware of what was happening. The boy looked like he was only half conscious and the only way they knew he was awake was from the small cries of pain every now and then when he was shoved by an overzealous inmate.

Jongho clutched his bad arm a little too tightly, causing him to flinch and hiss in pain.

“Ah, sorry Hyung!” Jongho yelped, immediately letting go.

Yeosang shook his head, dismissively, reaching out to grasp the boy's hand, before moving against the crowd to get Mingi and Yunho away from the wall they had been pressed against.

When they were close enough, Mingi reached a desperate hand out which Jongho immediately latched onto.

Then they began making their way back towards the exit. It was much easier on the way back, the crowd easing up a bit. Yeosang let out a sigh of relief when he saw that there was still no one guarding the area.

“Ok, ok, come on guys!” Yeosang ushered the boys out, pushing gently but sternly.

When all three boys were out, Yeosang took a second to catch his breath, before stepping out into the cold breeze.

Only to feel a vice like grip on his broken arm. He yelled in pain, as whoever had gotten a hold of him pulled him back harshly.

He fell backwards, crashing into a royal guard. The guard said nothing, only looked down at Yeosang with a slightly annoyed expression.

Yeosang could read expressions well and he could tell right away that this man didn't really care if he escaped or not. He just wanted this to be over asap so he could go back to whatever he had been doing before.

And he decided to use that to his advantage.

“You really don't wanna be here, do you?” He asked, smirking.

The man rolled his eyes, shoving Yeosang off of him.

“I'm in no mood for small talk right now, kid.” There was no bite in his tone, just irritation.

“Well, neither am I. So how about you let me go? And we can forget this ever happened?” Yeosang caught sight of the man's name tag on his uniform and grinned. “What do you say, Hongjoong?”

“No can do, brother…” The man said, shortly and began dragging him back to his cell.

Yeosang would have argued back but the man pulled on his arm harshly, causing him to scream in pain, scrunching his eyes shut.

The man paused, slightly, but seemed to remember that prisoners weren't supposed to get sympathy, and continued on his way.

But Yeosang wasn't about to let up, when he had gotten so close. He steeled himself and pulled against the man's grip, wincing at the spikes of pain travelling up his arm.

“Just come _on!_ You're right! I don't want to be here! So could you make this easier on both of us and come willingly? I don't have all day!”

Yeosang shook his head, mutely, not able to say a word through his pain. However, another voice answered for him, which made Yeosang open his eyes in disbelief.

“Let him go!” Jongho yelled.

The three boys had turned back around when they realized that their friend had been left behind.

The man let go of Yeosang’s arm in his surprise, causing the boy to fall forward into Jongho. He recovered almost right away and grabbed Mingi instead. It could've been Yeosang's muddled brain, but it seemed as if the man was looking at Mingi and Yunho with recognition.

“Come on, all four of you! Back to your cells!”

“Please, sir! We have a friend who's very injured and we need to get help for him.” Mingi pleaded.

The man paused to spare a glance at the barely conscious Yunho, swaying on his feet, his eyes closed.

He sighed heavily, loosening his grip but not letting go entirely.

“Listen, I would love to let you go. I really would. I have no loyalty towards that tyrant that keeps innocent people like you locked up. But I really can't risk losing my position as the head guard at this point. And even if I do let you go, you'd probably be caught by the guards at the gates.”

Yeosang knew the man was telling the truth. He racked his brain for another solution but Jongho beat him to it.

“Well, then maybe you could hide us? Until it's safe for us to leave?”

The man seemed to consider this for a moment, before he sighed and nodded.

“Come with me…” He said, shortly, and began walking down the hall.

Yeosang grinned widely at the youngest, as the four of them followed the guard. It occurred to him that they could be walking into a trap, but Yeosang's instincts had never been wrong before. Why start doubting them now?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Ok, stay in here. I'll come get you later.” The man said, leaving them in a place that could only have been his office.

Yeosang nodded, wordlessly, watching as the man closed the door behind him. As soon as he did so, Yeosang leapt forward and locked the door. 

_Just in case he's actually just going to get a weapon to kill us…_

Then he settled down on the floor with the other three boys.

“Are we sure about this?” Mingi asked, worriedly glancing around.

Yeosang shrugged.

“My instincts are rarely ever wrong… But if you feel uncomfortable about this, we could still make a run for it.”

Mingi sighed then looked down at Yunho.

“I would, but I don't think he can take much more running…”

“He's still losing a lot of blood…” Jongho said, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Yunho… Buddy…” Yeosang whispered, creeping closer to the boy. “How are you feeling?”

It might have seemed like a stupid question, but Yeosang really just wanted to hear the boy speak.

Yunho looked up at him, through half closed eyes and gave him a small smile.

“Just… Peachy, Sangie…” He whispered.

“We're going to get help for you soon, ok? Just hold on for a little longer. Can you do that for me, Hyung?” Yeosang said, a note of desperation in his voice.

Yunho nodded, his eyes sliding shut once more, head leaning against Mingi's shoulder. Mingi ran his fingers through the boy's hair and looked up at Yeosang worriedly.

“Sure hope that guy comes back soon…”

As if on cue, the door knob turned, but was stopped by the lock. Impatient knocks sounded at the door, spurring Yeosang to his feet. 

“Who is it?” He asked, not one to just open the door without knowing if they were in danger or not.

“It's Hongjoong! Open up!”

His shaking fingers fumbled with the lock for the lock for a few seconds before he was finally able to open the door.

Hongjoong stood there, looking just as worried as them, but probably for different reasons.

“Ok, come on, follow me. And keep it down.” 

Yeosang nodded and gestured for the others to follow him. 

They ran lightly across the hall, following Hongjoong in the darkness.

After some time, they ended up at a huge door marked with a plaque labeled, _Prince Seonghwa_.

Yeosang barely had time to register what that meant, before Hongjoong opened the door and hurriedly rushed the boys inside.

“Ok, stay right here for a second.” Hongjoong said, before walking further into the room.

Yeosang and the others sank down to the floor, winded, and took in their surroundings. It was clear that this was the Prince's room. There was a huge bed in the center of the room pressed against the wall. On the other wall was a huge flat screen TV and further down the room there were three couches set up in front of a floor to ceiling window, overlooking the town.

Huddled by the bed were three other men besides Hongjoong. Two of them also appeared to be guards if the uniforms were anything to go by.

_So the other guy must be the Prince!_

The four of them were talking in hushed but excited voices. And not excited in a good way. Eventually they began to raise their voices a little and Yeosang's ears caught on to a familiar phrase: _The Sword of Asylum._

He felt a little tug on his sleeve and looked down to see Yunho looking up at him.

“Did he just…” The boy trailed off, but Yeosang understood and nodded.

“Hey!” Yeosang called out to the four.

They all turned their heads towards him and walked a little closer.

“What is it?” Hongjoong asked.

Yeosang opened his mouth to speak, but Yunho seemed really intent on talking to these men even though it was clearly hard for him.

“Y-you just said something… About the Sword of Asylum…”

The men glanced at each other then back at the wounded boy.

“How do you know about that?” One of the guards asked, swiping his lavender hair out of his eyes and crouching down to get a better look at the boy.

“It's… A legend that's super old… Most people don't believe in it though…”

“Hmm right…” The guard muttered. “And do you know anything else about it?”

Yunho shook his head wearily.

“Just that it can help... overthrow the king… You know me don't you?” Yunho asked suddenly.

The man standing towards the back nodded.

“You're Yunho and that's Mingi. You both founded the Black Sword and I don't know you two but I'm sure you guys are members of that organization.”

Yunho nodded again.

“A-and do you know… What we do there?”

“You help people escape and take them to Venoria illegally. You also sell illegal things to raise money for transportation. You also sell those things to people in Venoria to bribe them to take in your refugees.”

Yunho shook his head, with a smirk at that.

“We do steal money, ...but the people of Venoria help us willingly… I don't need to bribe them… Anyways, the four of us… Thought that after we help as many people as we can… Then maybe we could look for the Sword… And overthrow the king…”

Yunho stopped finally, tiredly leaning against Mingi once more.

The four men glanced at each other, before looking back at the boys in front of them. The one who was clearly the Prince stepped forward and regarded them with a pensive expression.

“The four of us want to do the exact same thing. So… What do you four say to joining us?”

Yeosang looked back at the others, wide eyed. 

_Had the Prince of Centauri just indirectly recruited them for a top secret mission to end the tyrant's reign?_

The three others nodded, but for once Yeosang didn't know whether to trust his instincts or not.

Looking back up at the Prince, he decided to throw all reason out the window. Besides, what did they have to lose, right?

“We accept…”

Then Hongjoong smiled and said exactly what everyone in the room was thinking.

“We're really doing this…”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	3. More Than Words Can Say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been a long time coming...  
> Hope everyone is feeling well!  
> I'm in lockdown right now so hopefully I should be able to write more frequently, but knowing me I'll probably still find a way to procrastinate somehow.  
> Anyways, stay healthy everyone!💜

Seonghwa watched, wordlessly from his place on the couch as Wooyoung began tending to the injured blue haired boy. The other three looked wary as San handed them each new clothes to wear and directed them to the restroom. Hongjoong simply sat on the edge of Seonghwa's bed, watching Wooyoung work his magic on the injured boy.

Seonghwa could tell they were all puzzled at his sudden invitation of these random prisoners, but if he had learned anything in these last two years, it was to always trust his gut feeling. There had been several incidents where one of his friends would have been in terrible danger had he not stepped in when he did.

Just last month, in the dead of night, Seonghwa had woken up with the strangest desire to find Hongjoong. Without a second thought, he had left his room, walking the halls in the near darkness, towards Hongjoong’s room. But upon opening the door, he saw that there was no one inside. Seonghwa distinctly remembered that Hongjoong's shift had ended an hour ago, so why wasn't he inside his room?

Closing the door behind him silently, Seonghwa’s instinct once again told him that he ought to ask for Wooyoung and San’s help. Thankfully, he found the two of them asleep in their rooms and once he told them that Hongjoong was missing, they immediately followed him without a word. The three of them then walked outside to see a shocking sight.

_ A guard lay on the floor, on his stomach, Hongjoong sitting on top of him, twisting his arm. The expression on Hongjoong's face could only be described as pure rage. The three stood silently, mouths open in shock. Why was Hongjoong attacking one of his own? _

_ “Hongjoong!” San gasped, finally. _

_ Hongjoong lifted his head at the call, face transforming in confusion. _

_ “What are you guys doing here?” He asked. _

_ “What are  _ you _ doing, Joong?” Seonghwa asked, incredulously. _

_ Hongjoong frowned in anger once more, glaring down at the man who was still struggling under his grasp. _

_ “This sorry excuse of a man thought he could challenge my position as head guard. He was quickly proven wrong though…” He said, through gritted teeth. _

_ The man beneath him suddenly chuckled slightly, making Hongjoong's expression twist further. He shoved the man's face down into the concrete. _

_ “Is your defeat really so funny that you can't help but laugh as well?” Hongjoong questioned, his voice becoming dangerously low. _

_ Seonghwa's instinct was telling him something bad was going to happen soon and it was making him anxious. He had to get Hongjoong out of here soon. _

_ “Leave it, Hongjoong. We can report him to the King later.” _

_ The man only laughed harder. _

_ “If only you poor souls knew…” The man said under his breath. _

_ And suddenly, they were surrounded as several other guards began pouring in from different directions. Hongjoong looked up, shocked, and his grip on the man loosened slightly. _

_ The man took this chance to throw him off and pin him to the ground. _

_ “You're finished…” _

They had only barely escaped with their lives, but Seonghwa was glad he had decided to bring two of the best Royal guards with him. Had Wooyoung and San not been there that night, Seonghwa didn't know if Hongjoong would still be alive. He was a strong man and skilled fighter, but he would never be able to go against all those guards.

Hongjoong had reported the incident to the King, and while he had punished the offenders, it was a bit troubling to see how unsurprised he had seemed. If he didn't think it was bothering San, Seonghwa would have said that maybe the King had ordered the attack on Hongjoong.

Seonghwa shook his head, dispelling thoughts of the past. Sighing, he stared out the window, wondering if the residents of the Kingdom were faring better in their dreams.

A small smile settled on his face as he stared at all the lights shining down in the streets. No matter how much had changed since his father died, the brightness of night had never changed. It made him feel like maybe there was some hope. Maybe things would get better.

Seonghwa blinked, wincing in pain as the bright light proved too much, piercing its way straight to his head. He settled his head in his palms, suddenly feeling ill. When was the last time he had a peaceful sleep?

Before he could dwell on it any longer, a hand settled on his shoulder, demanding his attention. Seonghwa looked up wearily and was met with San's stormy gaze pinned on him.

“What now?” Seonghwa muttered, lowering his eyes once more.

“Why did you do it?” San asked, a bite in his tone.

Seonghwa frowned, lifting his head to meet San's gaze.

“Do what?” He asked, wondering why San was angry with him yet again. 

It seemed that San picked a fight with him at every chance he got. Seonghwa dearly loved the man and would do anything to protect him, but there was no arguing that he could be a real pain in the neck at times.

San's eyes narrowed dangerously as he continued to glare down at Seonghwa.

“You know what I'm talking about…” He said, keeping his voice quiet so no one would overhear.

Seonghwa sighed, a hint of irritation making its way into his eyes.

“No, I don't, San. So could you please be straightforward for once?” He said, trying to come off as annoyed, but only sounding tired.

Clearly it had been the wrong thing to say, however, as San made a sound of frustration, running a hand through his hair roughly.

“I will once you stop saying and doing things that make no sense!” He said, teeth clenched. “Why did you recruit those prisoners?” He demanded.

Dropping his head, Seonghwa sighed, knowing there was no way to explain why he did it. How does one explain that a decision just felt  _ right? _ He just looked at those prisoners who had the same goal as them and thought  _ why not? _ He didn't think it would be too much of an issue. The King rarely tired himself enough to actually  _ go out _ and find escaped prisoners. Hence, the high crime rate, one of the reasons why the kingdom was falling apart. Shaking his head, he met San's eyes once more.

“As much as you might like to think, we can't do this on our own. We'd need more people anyway and these prisoners might be useful.” Seonghwa stated.

“Useful?!” San said, incredulously, his voice becoming louder. From the corner of his eye, Seonghwa noticed Hongjoong glance at them momentarily. “Useful how? Because they're part of a rebel organization? Is that what you're basing this off of?” 

Seonghwa dropped his head again as a spark of pain shot through his temple, courtesy of San's increasingly loud voice. He was seriously considering giving into San’s rant for the time being. He wasn't feeling too well to continue this fight any longer.

But San was really starting to get on his nerves and Seonghwa was never one to back out, no matter how he was feeling.

“And so what if I am?” He questioned, keeping his gaze locked onto San's this time. “They've been doing all kinds of things under the king's nose for years. That's exactly the kind of resourcefulness we need right now!”

“Resourcefulness!?” San actually laughed at that. A hysterical, frustrated sort of laugh. “How is a liability resourceful? Because I sincerely hope that you realize that that's exactly what they are.”

“What is your problem?” Seonghwa said, surprised by the words that were wrenched straight from his heart and thrown at one of his… Friends? Could he even call San that at this point? Seonghwa really had had enough of his constant nagging. He shook his head to rid himself of the sudden lightheadedness that took over for a second. He wasn't going to let any illness come between telling San off for being annoying.

“Why do you need to go against everything I say?” He continued, letting the words pour out of him. “What have I ever done to you? Why can't I believe the things I want to? You question my every decision, every thought! I'm not even allowed to say a word against my uncle when you're around! Why? Why do you do this!?”

San didn't miss a beat, eyes fiery with anger as he let loose his own rant.

“You're no different! Whenever I insinuate that the King might have a heart, you immediately say some shit like, ‘that's not likely’ or ‘it’s impossible for him to do that’! I'm just trying to make you see sense when you blindly assign blame or create theories out of thin air!”

At this, Seonghwa flies out of his couch, standing toe to toe with San, glaring daggers at him. He pushes the dizziness that suddenly crashes into him to the back of his mind, focused only on San and his insufferable behavior.

“No! You're giving yourself more credit than you deserve! You only ever fight me like this where my uncle is involved! Any other theories or superstitions I choose to believe are merely dismissed by you, as if it's not even worth your time! But when I talk about my uncle, you immediately have something to say about it! Why? What has he done for you that I haven't? Does he always have your back like I do? Despite all your nagging? Please do inform me of his greatness towards you so that maybe I can take lessons of friendship from him!”

Seonghwa took a miniscule step back, the dizziness not letting up as he let go a heavy breath, still glaring angrily at San, who suddenly growled lowly.

“Don't you dare twist my words.” He said, voice dangerously calm. “I never said I choose him over you, but at this moment, I'm seriously regretting ever being by your side to try and educate you. You clearly don't value my advice so I won't be giving it any longer.”

They stood in a tense silence for a few moments, before San huffed and shook his head, eyes never leaving Seonghwa's face. A few more seconds in the standoff, and San began to walk away.

“I'll see you in the morning…” He said, as he walked off. “Since we can't leave tonight because of  _ someone's _ decisions.”

And with that, he slammed the door shut loud enough for all six inhabitants (minus the blue haired boy who was in too much pain to notice) to wince at the noise.

Seonghwa sighed, too shaken up, as San's words echoed in his head. He cradled his pounding head in his hands for a moment, trying to forget about the existence of five more people in the room who had probably seen the two of them fighting. He really didn't want to be comforted right now but of course that wasn't his choice to make.

“Seonghwa…” Followed by a hand on his shoulder, that he immediately recognized as Hongjoong's. 

He slowly lifted his head to gaze at him, wordlessly. He was vaguely aware of the fact that his vision was slightly blurry, but he ignored it for a moment. Hongjoong looked at him with sympathy in his eyes. 

Hongjoong and Wooyoung had an unspoken agreement that after each of Seonghwa and San's fights, Hongjoong would go comfort Seonghwa, while Wooyoung would do the same for San.

A glance behind Hongjoong told him that Wooyoung was still busy with the injured boy. He didn't know why he felt a slight sadness at the image of San alone in his room.

“What was that all about?” Hongjoong asked gently. 

Seonghwa turned his attention back to Hongjoong, slowly processing the question. 

_ What did he say? _

_ Ah, right… _

Seonghwa shook his head minutely, not really wanting to discuss it at the moment. He shut his eyes as another wave of dizziness crashed into him.

Hongjoong frowned in concern.

“Are you ok, Hwa?”

Seonghwa felt like he was floating which was strange when his head felt so heavy. He was now also aware of the fact that he was shaking slightly, though he had no idea why.

“I-I’m fine...” He muttered, just as his knees buckled suddenly. 

Thankfully, Hongjoong was there to catch him. Seonghwa felt his arms circle around him firmly even as worried murmurs escaped him. Seonghwa couldn't really make out what he was saying anymore.

He let out an involuntary groan as his head continued to pound relentlessly. 

“Seonghwa!” 

Seonghwa shook his head to clear the fuzziness in his head and focused on his surroundings. He was on his knees now, Hongjoong's hand on his face, and desperation and worry on his own.

“Seonghwa, when's the last time you ate something?” He asked.

Seonghwa took a shaky breath, before shaking his head wearily. He really didn't know.

Hongjoong sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.

“Sorry…” Seonghwa whispered. He wasn't trying to be disappointing, but everything seemed to be hinting that he was.

“No, no…” Hongjoong said, heavily. “I'm sorry. I was supposed to be paying attention to you. I promised myself I would…”

“Y-you shouldn't have to…” Seonghwa tried to protest.

Hongjoong firmly shook his head, indicating that the conversation was over.

“Come on…” He said, helping Seonghwa to his feet. “Do you want to lie down on your bed?”

Seonghwa shook his head quickly.

“Let the boy keep it for now…” 

His bed was big enough for three grown men to lie down and still have room to spare, but he didn't want to invade the boy's space.

“Alright, then here…” Hongjoong said, setting him down on the couch once more.

“I'll get something for you…” He said, making sure Seonghwa was comfortable.

Seonghwa threw his arm over his eyes, muttering an embarrassed “thank you” just as Hongjoong left.

A small smile directed towards Seonghwa and Hongjoong left the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“It's ok, it's ok, we're almost done…”

Yunho grit his teeth against the pain, small whimpers leaving him despite the man's constant reassurances. He curled his fingers into the sheets below him, squeezing his eyes shut tight.

He heard a heavy sigh from above him, and suddenly the man removed his hands from Yunho’s shoulder. Heavy breaths falling from his lips, Yunho slowly opened his eyes to see what had gone amiss, only to see the man sitting there, staring at him with patient eyes. Yunho let his eyes slide shut again, raising his good arm to swipe the sweat off his brow.

“What...did you say your name was?” He muttered.

Yunho could almost hear the smile in the man's voice when he replied.

“I'm Jung Wooyoung…”

Yunho pried his eyes open again to look at him wearily.

“Ah… Thanks for dealing with me Wooyoung-ssi…”

Wooyoung grinned at him.

“No problem, Yunho-ssi.”

“Please continue… Don't mind me… My other friends need your assistance as well…” Yunho said.

Wooyoung nodded and continued cleaning the bullet wound. Yunho clenched his teeth again, trying his best to endure the pain.

“You know…” Wooyoung said, stopping again, momentarily. “It hurts less if you let yourself relax. Your muscles are too tense right now, which is understandable, but it also makes the pain worse.”

Yunho stared for a few seconds, before letting himself relax against the pillows. A sharp pain stabbed through his shoulder for a split second, before dying down to a manageable ache.

Yunho let go a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

“Better?” Wooyoung said, smiling.

Yunho nodded wearily, a small smile in return. A little more aware of his surroundings, he noticed that the other man who had been watching over the two of them was no longer there.

“Where is….” He began, before his eyes caught sight of him, walking over to the other side of the room, where the Prince was standing amongst the couches.

Wooyoung followed his gaze towards the two of them and visibly grimaced.

“Yeah, I'm guessing you didn't hear the fight just now.”

Yunho shook his head as he kept watching the two. The Prince didn't seem to be paying attention to what the other Royal guard was saying, and suddenly his knees folded beneath him, making Yunho's eyes widen unconsciously.

Wooyoung was already half standing, when the guard caught the Prince around his waist, settling him down on the floor gently. The two watched silently as the guard frantically tapped the Prince's cheeks in an effort to keep him awake.

After a hushed discussion, the guard set the Prince down on the couch and ran out the door.

Wooyoung sighed and turned back to Yunho.

“Sorry about that… Should I continue?”

Yunho nodded slightly, letting Wooyoung continue but also determined to find out more about this place.

“What was that other guard's name?”

“He's Kim Hongjoong. He's the head guard over here. He also takes care of Seonghwa, the Prince, when he can't take care of himself. The other guard that isn't here at the moment is Choi San.”

Yunho nodded, wincing a little as Wooyoung finally finished up, tightly wrapping his shoulder with gauze.

“There you go. You should be good to go.” Wooyoung said, handing him a new pair of clothes.

“Go change into these and we can talk more when you come back.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Almost an hour later, Wooyoung finished patching up all the newcomers, Mingi and Jongho only needing a wrapping around their heads and tons of bed rest. Upon Wooyoung’s inspection, it turned out that Mingi also had a concussion, however less severe than Jongho’s.

The five of them sat around on Seonghwa's bed, chatting away about very random things, while Hongjoong kept Seonghwa company.

San still had yet to return.

And Yunho began to notice Wooyoung's slight discomfort.

“Wooyoung-ssi, you don't have to stay if you don't want to.” He said.

Wooyoung smiled slightly, but still seemed hesitant to leave them.

“You guys will be ok amongst yourselves?”

They all nodded in confirmation.

“Ok, I'll just be a few minutes, hopefully.” He said, relief clear in his voice. 

He slid off the bed and began making his way to the door, but stopped halfway there. Yunho watched as he walked over to Hongjoong and the Prince. After a few hushed words, he left quickly.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa came to join them soon after and engage them in conversation.

Yunho didn't say much, just watched the Prince thoughtfully, wondering if he was going to bring up their previous encounter the day before.

“So Yunho-ssi…” Hongjoong said, catching Yunho's attention. “Tell us a little about yourself. Why did you decide to make a rebel organization?”

Yunho chuckled slightly, not really knowing if he wanted to get into the long conversation just yet. But it turned out, he didn't have to, as the Prince suddenly cut into the conversation.

“Hey Yunho-ssi, are you finally gonna tell me what it takes to be a member of your organization?” He asked, a slight smile on his face.

Yunho laughed out loud at that.

“Let me tell you, I had a good laugh about you later. You don't have to pay me. You just have to pledge allegiance to me, that's it.”

Seonghwa nodded, humming in response.

“So, you recognized me, but do you recognize him?” Yunho asked, pointing to Yeosang who was sitting next to him.

Seonghwa frowned, shaking his head.

“I'm the one who ran into you and stole your money.” Yeosang said, grinning. He reached into his pocket with his good arm, throwing the pouch towards Seonghwa. “You can have it back.”

Seonghwa caught it and immediately placed it back in front of Yeosang.

“Please keep it. As an apology for your injuries.”

“How  _ did _ you get injured so badly though? I'm sure I told all my subordinates not to harm anyone.” Hongjoong inquired.

Jongho immediately took the lead in explaining what had happened. Yunho glanced at the Prince who looked like he was getting uncomfortable sitting around.

Yunho cleared his throat, grabbing the man's attention. Seonghwa looked up expectantly.

“You don't have to stay… We'll be fine on our own.”

Seonghwa nodded slowly, looking as if he was in deep thought.

“I'm just worried about where San went.”

Yunho nodded in understanding and left it at that.

About ten minutes later, Hongjoong decided that everyone should get to bed. He led the four boys to a spare room of their own and bid them goodnight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It had been almost half an hour since Hongjoong had sent the others to bed and two hours since San had left the room.

Hongjoong sighed, glancing over at Seonghwa who sat leaning against the head board, a distant look in his eyes.

Hongjoong leaned forward and placed a gentle hand on his knee. Seonghwa looked up at him, exhaustion clear in his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” Hongjoong asked, carefully.

“Better…” He replied shortly, going back to staring off into the distance.

Hongjoong let go an exasperated sigh.

“Seonghwa…” He prompted.

At this, Seonghwa heaved a sigh, bringing his hands up to hold his head. He didn't say anything for a few seconds and Hongjoong waited patiently.

“Just worried…” He said, at long last.

“About?” Hongjoong asked.

“Just…” He shrugged, a small frown settling on his face. “Everything… San, these prisoners, the kingdom in general. Not to mention the fact that my uncle is coming back tomorrow, meaning I'll have to sit with him for an insufferable hour, detailing exactly what happened in his absence. I was already stressed and this thing with San didn't help much.”

“Would the King really make you report to him, despite knowing that he assigned you a mission today?” Hongjoong asked.

“He doesn't care…” He said, a dry laugh leaving him.

Hongjoong sat silently for awhile, watching the way Seonghwa's eyes seemed to gaze across time and space once again. He reached forward, tapping his knee once again to make him snap out of it.

“Hm?” Seonghwa said, focusing on Hongjoong's contemplative expression.

“Do you want to talk about your fight with San?” He asked gently.

Seonghwa turned away, sighing once more. 

“It was just… You know the usual. Him standing up for my uncle. Well this time he was actually mad that I recruited those prisoners, but our fights always end up being about my uncle…” He said, turning sad eyes towards Hongjoong.

“You know…” Hongjoong stopped suddenly, as if he was about to say something that he wasn't supposed to.

“Hm? What is it?” Seonghwa pressed.

“Well…” Hongjoong said, hesitation clear on his face. “I know that you have your suspicions but… San has reason to be grateful towards your uncle. He did him a great service two years ago when he first became King.”

Seonghwa frowned.

“You mean when he raised San's rank? To a Royal guard? He did the same for Wooyoung as well, but you don't see him trying to argue with me.” Seonghwa countered.

“It's much deeper than that, but I don't think it's my place to tell you. He'll tell you when he feels like it.” Hongjoong said.

Seonghwa opened his mouth to pester Hongjoong into telling him, but before he could get a word out, his phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket.

Frowning, he pulled it out, opening it up and staring at the message he had just received.

“What is it?” Hongjoong said.

Seonghwa held the phone out to him, showing him the text from his uncle.

_ I regret to inform you that I won't be returning tomorrow morning. Youngjo has fallen ill and we must stay the night to ensure his recovery. I'll be seeing you the day after tomorrow. Unless you are not present, in which case I'll see you in a month. _

Hongjoong handed the phone back to Seonghwa, with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Youngjo is sick?” Seonghwa muttered to himself, frowning worriedly.

Hongjoong suddenly laughed out loud, making Seonghwa look up at him, confused.

“Hwa, you really have to stop worrying about  _ everything _ . I don't wanna sound rude, but sometimes you stress over things too much.”

“Would you rather I not care at all?” Seonghwa said, slightly offended.

“No, no, caring is fine.  _ Stressing _ is not. There's a difference. There's no use worrying about things that aren't in your control. You're allowed to be sad about it, but don't let it hover over your head. It's not good for you.”

Seonghwa sighed, having heard this lecture quite a few times already. He knew Hongjoong was right, but it was hard to change his inherently worrisome personality. He vowed that he would work on it, but every time something happened he would let it get to his head.

“Alright, Joongie. I'll try…” He said, finally, a tired smile on his face.

Hongjoong smiled back, leaning forward to perhaps say something else to him.

Just then, the door creaked open and Wooyoung slowly walked in, followed by San.

Seonghwa's eyes widened, but he didn't make any move towards him. San didn't look at him, just kept his eyes glued to the floor.

Seonghwa didn't expect an apology and he knew that San didn't expect one from him either. They just didn't do stuff like that. Rather than saying ‘I’m sorry’, they would go out of their way to do things for each other. Little actions that said more than words can say.

And so Seonghwa waited until both Wooyoung and San were seated on the bed, Wooyoung bestowing a small smile in his direction, while San stayed silent.

“So…” Hongjoong began. “Did you guys get the memo?”

“What memo?” Wooyoung asked, a strange smile on his face.

“The King isn't coming back tomorrow.” Seonghwa replied, relief clear in his voice. “One less thing for me to worry about.”

San cleared his throat, glancing up slightly.

“Youngjo conveniently decided to be sick.” He muttered.

“Yeah, what was that about? I really do hope he's ok…” Seonghwa said, worriedly.

San sighed, frustrated, running a hand through his hair, as he finally lifted his eyes to meet Seonghwa's.

“Stop worrying, Hyung. He's not really sick.”

Seonghwa tilted his head confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I asked around to find out who went with your uncle. It took a while to convince him to fake illness so your uncle wouldn't come back tomorrow.”

Seonghwa sat there speechless, his eyes staring as San dropped his head in embarrassment.

“When I told him you were stressing again, he had no problem acting to give you a break.”

Seonghwa laughed, reaching forward to pull San closer to him.

“And what about you? Give yourself some credit too.” Seonghwa said.

But San kept his head down, shaking it slowly.

“Credit myself for what? I've only added to your stress. I know you're still mad…”

Seonghwa shook his head, shaking the boy's shoulder slightly, prompting him to look up.

“That was before you knocked my biggest concern off of the list.” He said, the slightest of apologetic smiles on his face, pointedly ignoring the looks Hongjoong and Wooyoung were throwing in their direction.

“Well…” San said, shrugging. “It was the least I could do…”

“You did well, Sannie. Thanks, really…”

“Anything for you, Hyungie…”

And Seonghwa was glad to see the smile return to San’s face.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	4. Beginning Of The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg hi it's been MONTHS...😅 I apologize...  
> But ANYWHO I'm back again! The comeback was CRAZY and I guess I have that to thank for finally coming back to this story.  
> EVERYONE DON'T FORGET TO STREAM THE ALBUM ITS FREAKING AMAZING OMG  
> Anywhooooo let's continue on to the chapter!

“Yunho… Yunhoooooo.... Hey Yunho Hyung, I know you’re awake…”

Yunho sighed tiredly as Yeosang’s incessant whispers made their way to his ears. He was well on his way to falling asleep, but didn't wanna leave the boy hanging.

Sighing once more, he turned to face the boy and jokingly glared at him.

“Well,  _ now _ I am…” He muttered.

Yeosang smiled sheepishly as he looked at his Hyung.

“Heh, sorry… couldn't sleep…” Yeosang said.

“Neither could I…”

Yunho turned upon hearing Mingi’s voice and saw that both he and Jongho, who were lying on the other bed, were both awake.

“Honestly, how could anyone sleep after… What just happened?” Jongho asked.

Yunho stared at the three of them and laughed slightly, because  _ he  _ was definitely able to sleep after what just happened.

“Why do you guys love bothering your Hyung?” He asked, fondly.

“You love us regardless.” Jongho said smiling.

“Unfortunately…” Yunho said, returning the smile.

“Anyways… I just can't believe this Hyung…” Yeosang muttered.

Yunho nodded in understanding. The turn of events was pretty unbelievable.

“The way we were talking about how we couldn't do this on our own just yesterday and now…” Jongho voiced.

“Now we literally have  _ the prince _ and  _ three royal guards  _ on our side!” Mingi said excitedly.

“It is pretty unbelievable isn't it?” Yunho muttered staring up at the ceiling.

“Do you think we can trust them?” Yeosang muttered. “I mean what if they're just using us to do their dirty work and then just hand over the sword to the king?”

Yunho sighed. The thought had of course crossed his mind, but he honestly didn't get any shady vibes from the four. From what he could see, they had the same goals as them. Although, Yunho didn't really understand why. 

Sure, it made sense for citizens to want to overthrow the king but for people inside the system to feel the same?

Still, they had said their goals were the same and Yunho was willing to work with them and find out why.

“Well they seem to be treating us awfully nice if that's all we are to them.” Yunho said simply.

“That's true…” Jongho muttered.

“In all honesty, I actually trust them completely.” Mingi said. “The prince thought we were good enough to go with them, that Wooyoung guy patched us up pretty well and that Hongjoong guy didn't throw us back in prison.” 

“I'm also with Mingi on that one.” Yeosang said. “I trust them all… Except that San guy. I'm getting weird vibes from him…”

So did Yunho. Despite not seeing much of him in the few hours they had spent in the prince's room, Yunho got the feeling that the man didn't like them very much.

“Me too…” Yunho said. “But I mean, this is our team now. I know you all trust them and I do too, to an extent. But we should be careful.”

“You're right. We just met them, we shouldn't be too trusting.” Yeosang agreed.

Jongho nodded sleepily. 

“Anyways, guys I'ma go to bed now.” He muttered. “We have to leave early tomorrow morning.” 

“Good call, Jongho.” Yunho agreed. “Everyone, back to bed.”

“Ok, Hyungie.” Mingi muttered tiredly.

“Night Hyung.” Jongho said.

“Sleep well, Yunho.” Yeosang muttered.

“Night everyone.” Yunho said, his eyes falling shut as a small smile settled on his face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_ Seonghwa had no idea why his uncle would be summoning him to his office, but he knew it couldn't be anything good. _

_ As he walked the halls to his office, he couldn't help the dreadful feeling that settled in his stomach. _

_ When he finally made it there, he was starting to feel nauseous. _

Calm down, nothing’s gonna happen,  _ he tried telling himself. _

_ “Uncle? You called for me?” He asked. _

_ “Ah, Seonghwa…” His uncle set down the papers in his hand and stared at him through his thick glasses, an amiable smile on his face. _

_ “Let's get down to business. Where's the sword?” _

_ Seonghwa tensed and tried to keep his expression neutral. They couldn't give the sword to him and Seonghwa had given it to San to keep it safe. _

_ “We haven't found it yet. We still have time left, Your Highness.” _

_ “Hmm, so you do…” The king rose from his chair and began walking towards him slowly. _

_ “I know you've found it… And I know what you're planning…” _

_ Seonghwa gulped, keeping his eyes trained on the man. _

_ “I don't know what you're talking about…” Seonghwa said, trying to keep his voice steady. _

_ “Oh Seonghwa… It pains me when you insult my intelligence like that. Why don't you stop playing dumb because I know _ everything _ …” _

_ Seonghwa’s hands had begun to shake by now, and he thought it was probably in his best interest to remain silent. But his curiosity was killing him and he was dying to know exactly what and how the king knew. _

_ “Since I know you're probably dying to know what I know….” The man drawled as if reading his mind. _

_ He stopped a little distance away from Seonghwa and stared at him, the kind smile still present. _

_ “Let's just say I had… insider information…”  _

_ The door to the man's office suddenly creaked open, causing both men to glance over at the door. _

_ Seonghwa's eyes widened as San’s face came into view and it was unsettling how unsurprised the king seemed at the boy's presence. _

_ As San walked in, Seonghwa caught sight of the jeweled golden hilt sticking out of its sheath in San’s belt. His heart sank. San would never… Would he? _

_ “Ah, hello Choi San. Perfect timing…” The king said. _

_ San said nothing, only came to stand silently next to the king, pointedly ignoring Seonghwa's stare. _

_ The king ran his finger along the glittering hilt of the blade but made no move to take it out of its sheath. _

_ “I will be using this to conquer as many kingdoms as I please… And San will help me, just as he has been all this time…” _

_ The king glanced up at Seonghwa, his grin widening at the horrified look on the boy's face. _

_ “I've often thought San would make a better prince in your stead. I wish he was my heir so I could die knowing someone would continue my legacy.” _

_ Seonghwa didn't say anything, just continued to stare. _

_ “But of course, there can't be two princes… There's only room enough for one…” _

_ Seonghwa gulped, stumbling backwards a step before freezing again. He knew there was nowhere for him to go. _

_ “For your own safety and ours… I can't let you live Seonghwa…” The king sighed, a look of sympathy settling on his face.  _

_ Seonghwa wanted so badly to wipe that look off his face because he didn't mean it and every person in the room knew it. _

_ “But because it pains me so, I will not be doing it myself. I hope you understand…” Then he stepped back and gestured for San to step forward. _

_ “San, please do the honors…” _

_ And with that, San finally lifted his fiery gaze to meet Seonghwa's eyes. His eyes held no remorse whatsoever. Only anger. _

_ With one swift movement, he removed the sword from its sheath and swung it towards Seonghwa. _

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Seonghwa!”

Seonghwa gasped, his eyes flying open and a hand clutching at his chest. He lifted his head, his eyes darting around the room, surveying his surroundings.

No sword, no San, no uncle.

Just him in his room, lying on his bed, and a very worried Hongjoong staring down at him.

Seonghwa sighed, letting his head fall back onto the pillow, his eyes sliding shut once more.

“Hey, Hongjoong…” He muttered, throwing an arm over his closed eyes.

“Whoa, Seonghwa…” Hongjoong muttered.

Seonghwa felt the man place a hesitant hand on his shoulder.

“Another nightmare…?” The man asked, already knowing the answer.

Seonghwa nodded wordlessly.

“About?” Hongjoong prompted gently.

“The sword, the king… San…” Seonghwa mumbled. “He… Betrayed me… Betrayed  _ us _ …”

He heard Hongjoong heave a sigh and move his hand from his shoulder. Seonghwa opened his eyes to see the boy sit down on the bed next to him and stare at him.

“Listen Seonghwa… I know you have your suspicions about San. And I know why… Even though I don't think that justifies your constant doubt, I can understand it because of what you believe happened to your father…”

Seonghwa could tell the man was choosing his words very carefully, trying very hard not to fall onto either side. While on the one hand, Hongjoong definitely understood why Seonghwa would doubt anyone who sided with his uncle, he also knew San had reasons to be grateful to the king, which Seonghwa wasn't aware of.

“Regardless of what it may seem, San has no sort of friendship with the king. He agrees with your every statement when you curse the way he deals with the kingdom. He only has a problem when you say he was involved in your father's death without any basis. And even though he shares in your opinion that he's a terrible king, he feels bad voicing it himself because in a way he owes the king…”

Seonghwa sighed, turning his head away from Hongjoong.

“Yeah, yeah, so you've said.” He muttered. “If he would just  _ tell me _ why he's indebted to that sorry excuse of a king, maybe I would understand his viewpoint.”

Hongjoong chuckled slightly, placing his hand back on Seonghwa's shoulder.

“Sorry but I can't agree with that. I think you'd still stand by your claims.”

Seonghwa huffed and frowned at the man but he couldn't argue. He  _ was _ pretty stubborn in his views. Both of them were, which was why they got into fights so often.

“Maybe you're right…” He sighed, dropping his gaze.

Hongjoong smiled sympathetically and gently rubbed the man's arm comfortingly.

“Regardless of what San says about the king, I truly hope you know that his loyalties are with you, Seonghwa. If the king ever commanded him to do something against you, mark my words, he would not do it, despite the favor the king has done him. Because companionship is the biggest favor someone can give another and you've given him that all his life, Seonghwa. Have some faith in him.”

Seonghwa sighed and nodded. He smiled at the man, his best friend.

“Thanks Hongjoong. You always know the right things to say…”

“It's my job to take care of you.” Hongjoong said, shrugging. “No need to thank me, Hyung.”

Seonghwa smiled softly once more, sleep trying to drag him back down once more, now that the mood was calm.

But before he could drift off again, Hongjoong shook him lightly.

“No more sleep for you, Seonghwa. We have to get going, remember?”

“Ah right…” Seonghwa muttered, slightly irritated as he remembered their mission.

Time to go and find the only thing that could end the king's reign or strengthen it depending on how successful they were.

“Go wake the new kids…” Seonghwa said as he slowly sat up and slid off his bed.

Hongjoong grinned and laughed a little at that.

“They're already awake and ready! They're very eager to leave. We're waiting on you now, Seonghwa.”

“Ah, really?” Seonghwa said, dropping his gaze sheepishly. “Well, that's embarrassing…”

Hongjoong burst out laughing again.

“Don't worry, Hyung. It happens to the best of us and you are no exception. But I'm warning you, 15 minutes or we're leaving you behind.” Hongjoong said, jokingly as he began to leave the room.

“Haha, very funny…” Seonghwa drawled as he watched the man go.

“I'm not kidding.” Hongjoong said, grinning devilishly before finally stepping out of the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It didn't take Seonghwa longer than 15 minutes to get ready, but he purposely took his sweet time just to annoy Hongjoong. 

The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon and as Seonghwa stared out the window, he was suddenly struck by how much distance there was between him and that horizon.

The wonder quickly turned into nervousness and Seonghwa shook his head, immediately turning away from the window and the doubt creeping into his head.

He quietly opened the door of his room and slowly walked out, closing the door behind him.

The entire castle was still in night mode it seemed, if the pressing silence and dim lights were anything to go by. Seonghwa quietly crept down the vast halls and again his mind reminded him just how big this place was.

Seonghwa blinked and shook his head once more, trying to push down the hopeless feeling that was trying to overwhelm him.

But as he walked, he really couldn't help wondering how on Earth they were going to do this.

All they really had were their wits and an incomplete map to go off of.

Would they really be able to pull this off?

And even if they did what then? What would happen once they denied the king ownership of the sword?

They'd have to go into hiding for sure, as the king would probably declare war.

Seonghwa stopped walking, suddenly overwhelmed by his thoughts. This was never going to work, he had been crazy to think it would.

He dropped his head in his hands, feeling sick once again. He couldn't do this, there was no way.

“Seonghwa?”

Seonghwa flinched away from Hongjoong's voice. Of course the younger would come to look for him. He was well over his 15 minutes.

For a while, Hongjoong didn't say anything else and Seonghwa didn't look up at him.

Then there was a heavy sigh and rushed footsteps coming towards him.

Seonghwa involuntarily took a step back and the footsteps stopped just in front of him.

Seonghwa let out a heavy breath and finally lifted his head, making sure his expression was neutral.

“Sorry to keep everyone waiting. Let's go.” He said, his voice dry.

He made sure not to meet Hongjoong's concerned eyes as he pushed past him, but before he could get 10 steps in, Hongjoong wordlessly grabbed his hand and kept him in place.

Seonghwa sighed and let his head drop again as Hongjoong turned his body to face him.

“Seonghwa.” He said simply, a silent request for him to lift his head.

Seonghwa obliged, finally meeting his eyes but keeping his expression flat.

“What's wrong?” Hongjoong asked, his voice stern.

But Seonghwa shook his head slightly.

“It's nothing. I was just-”

“Worrying?” 

When Seonghwa didn't say anything, Hongjoong smiled sadly at his Hyung.

“About?” He prompted.

Seonghwa blinked away the sudden tears that seemingly materialized out of nowhere. He dropped his gaze again, swallowing thickly as his thoughts ran wild once again.

“Just-” His voice cracked and suddenly Hongjoong wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close.

“It's ok.” He muttered softly. “You don't have to say it. I know already…”

Seonghwa didn't doubt it as he clung to Hongjoong, desperately trying to reel in his tears. He didn't even understand why he was so emotional. Every little thing seemed to be setting him off these days.

“You're just so worried about the future, Hyung.” Hongjoong said, pulling away from him and meeting his gaze. “I know I've said this so many times but please Hyung. Always remember to take it slow, one step at a time. You'll end up hurting yourself if you keep stressing out like this.”

Seonghwa nodded, angrily swiping away the tears. He glanced up at Hongjoong, seeing the concern in his eyes and decided not to say anything.

But as it happened, Hongjoong could always read Seonghwa like an open book and he raised an eyebrow, silently prompting him to speak.

“I just…” Seonghwa sighed heavily before meeting Hongjoong's gaze full on. “I just keep thinking about how this is all going to end…”

He couldn't find the right words and it was frustrating, but Hongjoong smiled in understanding, as always.

“Oh, Hwa…” He came forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Stop worrying about the end, when we're still at the beginning. One day at a time, always remember that.”

Seonghwa nodded, allowing himself a small smile. He didn't really feel like smiling if he was being completely honest with himself, but how could he not when his best friend was smiling at him with all the brightness of the sun, moon and stars just to make him feel better?

Hongjoong's smile only grew upon seeing Seonghwa reciprocate and he moved his hand from his Hyung's shoulder to grip his hand instead.

“Now let's get going. The others are waiting.” He said softly and began to walk, pulling Seonghwa along with him.

Seonghwa sighed once more as he walked along with Hongjoong. He lifted his eyes slightly, his heart lifting when he saw that the halls no longer looked so vast.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our boys should officially start their journey in the next chapter and it's definitely not going to be a straightforward path.  
> Hope you enjoyed and hopefully see you soon!
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	5. Eight Makes One Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i'm back!  
> i didn't edit this at all but plz take this smol chapter :)

“Have we even thought about how we’re going to get to Lyra?”

San’s voice was slightly irritated as he glared at the map Seonghwa had handed to him. He flipped it this way and that, frowning at it in annoyance.

“Oh, right, never mind. We don't even know where it is…” He sighed.

Seonghwa glanced at him and smiled slightly as the eight of them walked through the town, following Yunho and Mingi as they led the way to Black Sword.

It was clear that San didn’t want to go on this wild goose chase, and even more so with four people they didn’t really know.

But Seonghwa also knew that if given the chance to stay back, he’d never take it. Despite his irritation, he’d never let his friends go into a potentially dangerous situation by themselves.

“Alright, everyone, we’re here!” Mingi said, excitedly running up to the door of the small building hidden in shadows.

He slid the key into the lock, turning it until it clicked and opened the door. He held it open as everyone walked inside, smiling brightly at everyone, even San who just looked away.

Seonghwa laughed slightly, shaking his head at the boy’s antics as he walked inside.

“What’s so funny?” 

Seonghwa turned at Hongjoong’s whisper to see the boy standing next to him, head tilted and questioning.

Seonghwa just shook his head, smiling and subtly pointing at San.

“He’s having a hard time warming up to the new kids.”

Hongjoong nodded and laughed as well.

“He’ll get there eventually. Remember how he used to be with Wooyoung?”

“He only stopped being cold when Wooyoung literally saved his life.” Seonghwa recalled.

Hongjoong chuckled and nodded, just as Yunho called for everyone’s attention.

“Ok, everyone, you’re about to see some top secret stuff.” He declared.

Seonghwa and the others nodded and smiled politely, while San simply crossed his arms and stared.

Yunho seemed completely unphased by the lack of reaction and stretched his hand out to Mingi. Mingi dropped the keys in the blue haired boy’s hand, watching as he took them and kneeled on the ground.

Seonghwa followed the movement with his eyes, raising his eyebrows in slight surprise when he noticed the trapdoor Yunho was currently unlocking.

“What’s down there?” He asked, as Yunho pulled it open.

Yunho grinned and gestured to the stairs leading down.

“That.” He said. “Is our Weapons Vault.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It surprised Seonghwa that he was shocked by the impressive array of weapons their new friends had collected over the years. As a prince, he argued that it didn’t make sense for him to be mesmerized by it all, but he couldn’t stop shaking his head in disbelief.

“How did you all manage to get so many weapons?” He asked. 

“Well, the Black Sword is a pretty big organization. Or at least it was, back when we first founded it.” Mingi stated. 

“We would trade all kinds of things. Mostly things stolen off of the more fortunate in Centauri.” Yunho admitted. “And sometimes, kingdoms like Venoria would help us out in secret.”

Seonghwa nodded at the statement, now understanding why a lot of their weapons looked much like the ones he had encountered in the royal armory.

“I think the king of Venoria wants to wage war on your uncle at this point and just take Centauri under his wing.” Yeosang stated.

“Does he now?” Hongjoong asked, beating Seonghwa to the question.

“Mhm.” Jongho confirmed. “I honestly don’t know why he doesn’t just go for it already.”

Yunho sighed and rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face as he turned his attention to Jongho.

“He has his own kingdom to worry about, you know?” He said. “Although… I don’t think a war is far off at this point…”

The conversation slowly died out after that, the Black Sword members gathering a few weapons here and there and explaining how they had more in Mingi’s ship.

Everyone was excited to learn the Mingi had a ship of his own that he called Aurora. It only made sense to travel by the sea to get to the fabled island.

“Oh wow, I’ve always wanted to travel in a ship!” Wooyoung squealed.

Yeosang laughed and directed everyone back to the stairs.

“Well, you’re in luck! It shouldn’t take us too long to get to the Aurora. But we do have to cross through Venoria before we go anywhere.” Yeosang stated.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It took them all day to travel about halfway through Venoria.

They took a few breaks here and there to get supplies and food but Seonghwa didn’t mind the walking and it seemed that no else did either. 

Except maybe San…

But Seonghwa knew that was just because of the reservations he still clearly held toward the newcomers.

The sun was slowly setting when they stopped to get dinner.

Seonghwa had to admit.

He’d barely known the new kids for a day but they were truly a delight to have around. He thought all four of them were really interesting and welcoming.

He talked to them about all kinds of things, but mostly he just enjoyed watching his friends interact with them.

Wooyoung and Yeosang seemed to have clicked right away, finding that they had a lot in common.

Hongjoong and Mingi were deep in discussion from the beginning.

Yunho and Jongho were just all around bright people who had the strange ability to make one forget about their troubles by simply smiling at them.

Seonghwa was sure that the eight of them might have looked like old friends to anyone who happened to pass by, if not for the way San was acting.

He wanted to scold the younger, but at the moment he was finding it hard not to smile at the way San kept ignoring Yeosang’s attempts to talk to him.

Yeosang seemed completely unphased by the lack of response while San seemed to be trying his best to scare him away with his intimidating glare.

The frown on San’s face had grown significantly, but Seonghwa could clearly see the way the fire in his gaze had almost completely vanished.

San would never admit it, but he did have a soft side to him.

Once they began walking again, Seonghwa subtly went to walk next to San who was lagging a bit behind the rest.

The younger glanced at him momentarily, his gaze neutral, before staring off into the distance once more.

Seonghwa grinned and sighed contentedly.

“So…” 

San glanced at him once more, expectantly.

“Yes?” He asked, when Seonghwa didn’t say anything else.

Seonghwa merely shrugged and threw an arm around his shoulder.

“Do you really hate them?”

“Hate who?” San asked, frowning in confusion despite the understanding Seonghwa could clearly see in his eyes.

“The newbies. I don’t think you hate them.” Seonghwa stated.

San let his gaze drop, falling silent for a few seconds before shaking his head slightly.

“I don’t.” He said, simply.

“Then why act like it?” Seonghwa asked.

San sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair roughly. A sure sign that another argument was on its way, but Seonghwa wasn’t concerned this time. San’s eyes were distant and Seonghwa knew that meant he was thinking deeply about what to say.

“I don’t hate them.” He repeated, firmly, as if to convince himself as well.

His eyes lingered on the others who were ahead of them for a few seconds before turning to face Seonghwa.

“I just… It’s new, you know? I don’t trust people easily.” San crossed his arms, dropping his gaze, as if he was uncomfortable talking about it.

“I know.” Seonghwa said, squeezing his shoulder gently. “I remember how you and Wooyoung used to fight everyday.”

“Hey, that wasn’t my fault.” San protested when Seonghwa laughed slightly. “I made it clear I didn’t want to associate with him but he kept trying to be my friend.”

“And now look at you two.” Seonghwa said, smiling.

San smiled too, nodding slightly as he glanced at his best friend chatting away with Jongho.

“It took us some time but now I trust him with my life. He’s a good person.”

“The newbies are good people too.” Seonghwa said softly.

“I know they must be…” San said, his smile dropping slightly. “I’ll warm up to them eventually but… it’s gonna take some time.”

“Take all the time you need, San.” Seonghwa said. “Regardless of your feelings towards them, I know you’d never treat them badly. You’re a good person too, San.”

“Thanks, Hyung.” San said, his smile returning. “So are you, never forget that.”

Seonghwa nodded, smiling as the two of them walked together.

“Hey, you two! Come on, we’re stopping for the night.”

Seonghwa glanced ahead at Hongjoong’s call and swung his arm around San again.

“Let’s go, Sannie.”

And with that, the two joined the others and they walked as eight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i shall be back with more soon!


End file.
